Scaterd Few

Item: Sin Disease
Author: Jason Morehead

Sin Disease

(1990)

Reviewed by Jason Morehead

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Label Alarma RecordsOpus2005

alternative rock punk reggae speed metal

Originally published at Opus

Christian music has come a long ways, but it wasn't too long ago that it was as derivative as you could possibly imagine. There was a time when I was incredibly skeptical of Christian music, and refused to use any adjectives like "groundbreaking" when describing it. That's why Sin Disease, the debut from Scaterd-Few is such an incredible album.

Seamlessly melding punk, speed metal, funk, reggae, and goth into a deliriously intense sound all their own, Scaterd-Few was like a shot of adrenaline right to the heart. But the real treat was Ramald Domkus (now known as Allan Aguirre) and his Perry Farrell/Andrew Eldritch vocals. Wailing like a banshee, or stooping to a low growl, his vocal style is definitely unique and bizarre.

And rarely have I heard lyrics so blunt, yet so poignant and sublime as on this album. Domkus pulled no punches, and wasn't afraid to confront social issues or his own spirituality with a refreshing openness.

Whether proudly wailing "I'd rather die than blame it on my God," decrying racial and gang tension ("Unified we might persuade our local terrorist blackened regime/Heed the cry of a scaterd few/Like the brothers on the Berlin wall/These walls need knocking too"), or voicing the energy of youth everywhere ("Take heed to my reproof/Don't reject me 'cause I'm young/We're here for Yahweh's glory and to magnify His son"), rarely has any band released anything this deep and provoking in an album that just clocks under 40 minutes.

All in all, a real gem that hasn't lost its energy after almost a decade, and whose impact will probably never fully be known.